DIGITALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES: BORN-DIGITAL COMPANIES AND THE ROUTE TO INTERNATIONALIZATION IN SAUDI ARABIA

International audience ; Digitalization and internationalization have an important role in the growth of enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In recent years, Borndigital SMEs have increased and internationalized faster than brick-and-mortar companies across the world. Notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region, recognizes the significance of digitalization in SMEs development, as these firms are contributing greatly to the country's GDP. Despite the increasing influx, there is a paucity of research that examines the factors affecting the digitization and internationalization processes of born-digital SMEs. Therefore, this doctoral research aims to develop a deeper understanding of this phenomenon to provide useful insights to the practitioners and policymakers. This research flows in three stages. In the first stage, a bibliometric analysis is conducted on 246 research papers in International Business and a subsequent front analysis is conducted to supplement the findings. To surge further, a quantitative survey is developed to investigate internationalization strategies and the role of digitalized value chain activities with the data collected from born digital SMEs. Finally, a case study analysis will be developed on the successful SMEs to examine the interplay of digitization and internationalization among SMEs in Saudi Arabia to enhance SMEs' global competitiveness and bridge the knowledge gap to contribute to the body of literature in this research area.